If you are into minecraft you will soon be able to use some technology to interact with the game using physical objects. Adafruit is making this possible with an NFC reader that they will be releasing soon. “Coming soon to the Adafruit Learning System, a project to make paper Minecraft blocks that interact with the game on a Raspberry Pi using NFC (near field communication)! Swiping a block
If you are looking to build a large low resolution screen stringing a bunch of WS2811 LED Strips together might be just the thing. ejunky66 shows us how you can make a cool flexible DIY LED Display using WS2811 LED Strips. The strips are stuck onto a plastic sheet, they are linked together in small grids that are then connected to the computer controlled interface. This panel won’t be
Hoffman Engineering shows us how to do some DIY 3D Scanning Using an xBox Kinect. The output of the process can then be used to print on a 3D printer. He is using the first generation xBox Kinect which can be found quite cheap used since the new version is now out. He is using the free version of Skanect to get the data in. The software uses all of the Kinect
When you design a PCB you have lots of ability to route the edges and internal shapes the way you want. Why not use the same material that is used for the circuit board for the actual case? FR4 PCBs are thin, strong, silk screened, have smooth edges, can have very precise holes drilled anywhere you like. These are all good qualities to have for case design. This is the
If you have one of those electronic fly swatters kicking around you might want to hack it into a cool looking light. Steven from RimStar has just completed his Fly Swatter Compact Fluorescent Light Hack. The fly swatter is powered from 3 volts (2 AA batteries). The circuit produces a high voltage that electrifies a grid which the fly will short out through his body. The grid is removed
Ben Heck shows us how you can be a one man video recording machine. Don’t you hate it when you need to reposition the camera for multiple shots. Using a PIXY he was able to make a system that will look for a certain color and then reposition the camera for the perfect shot. Ben makes good use out of his 3D printer to make many of the parts
If you are musically inclined a cool project would be to build some of your instruments. This Homemade Electronic Drum Kit by Hyoobaloinz is a great example of what can be developed with a bit of work. It looks great and is functional. “This first iteration is roughly modeled after the Roland V-drum. The main features I extracted were: 1. Piezoelectric pressure sensors for velocity-sensitive note triggering. 2. Mesh drum heads for quiet,
